Disparation: Sentinels of the Realm

General GTG Fan Fiction
#62

I’m gonna have to agree with @Thunderbird on this one, @The_Justifier. Although I don’t think literally turning into air is the way to go with Shu, flight, invisibility, and intangibility seem entirely doable with comic book science. Yes, it probably wouldn’t work out too well in our world, but comics never cared about that. The Flash has been vibrating through things for upwards of 60 years. It’s Artistic License.

All of those definitely work. I’m not quite sure what to do with Isis either. Maybe just give her flight and energy blasts? Or perhaps telekinesis, as that’s pretty magical-looking. I don’t think technopathy is the way to go with her, as that would be of very limited use in a fantasy setting.

Nuit, as “She Who Protects,” should probably get force-shields. Tefnut could have either some enhanced combat claws or maybe something that pulls moisture from the air and then releases it in a high-pressure blast. I don’t really know what Universe 1 Osiris’s powers are, but he deals psychic damage so he could just have a psychic disrupter of some sort.

Regarding those nutty X-Men, Colossus is far from the only one that doesn’t make scientific sense. Iceman has a similar problem, as a person made of literal ice is not a person anymore. Angel’s wings should not be able to lift him. And so many of them violate the Law of Conservation of Mass and Energy: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Professor X, Banshee, Magneto, Havok, Gambit, Jubilee, Wolverine, et cetera.

Also, while on the topic of the Celestial-Mutant connexion, I recommend Earth X, which is an excellent What If? story that heavily features the concept.

#63

Conservation is not an issue I worry too much about, since it is easily bypassed by the existence of other dimensions. Cyclops’s eye beams don’t create energy, they just import it from an adjacent universe. I could buy that one even if we were assuming mutants to be completely natural, as it would just mean the truth of our reality is more complex than scientists had previously assumed. Likewise, I can deal with Angel being able to fly on the assumption that he generates antigravity or something (the one that bothers me more in terms of flight is Banshee, since a sonic scream that overcomes gravity should also shatter windows and implode eardrums in about a ten mile radius). And Iceman being entirely ice is a recent development; I don’t really go much past the 90s in my familiarity with Xmen canon. Colossus is the one that really crystallizes my objection to the mutant theory, but then his sister is literally named Magik, which really feels like the creators winking at the audience and saying “we know this stuff doesn’t make sense, just go with it”. As the YouTuber Lorerunner puts it, “a tale rather than a story”.

#64

The Allcastle was a magically-animated fortress gone wrong. It ravaged the land, and the defenders of the innocent were desperate to stop it. Even the Fellowship of Freedom could only blunt its rampage; they were unable to vanquish the sentient keep. Their salvation, however, came from a most unexpected source. The ambient magical energies that made the castle animate had seeped into the crypt of King Aldred X, former lord of the castle. Those energies animated the late monarch’s suit of armour (his corpse had turned to dust long ago), which strode forth from the crypt believing itself to be Aldred X. He saw the destruction his fortress was causing, and quickly began a ritual that would undo the Allcastle’s animation. The spell was cast, and the Allcastle’s threat was ended, for a time.

James of the Brooks was the sole watchman in the small town of Argent Valley, located in the desolate Southlands. He was a good man, and skilled with the sword and the crossbow. But one day when James was riding outside town, he accidentally rode through a circle of standing stones, which activated an ancient enchantment and teleported him far away. When James came to after the teleportation, he found himself in an unfamiliar land, and menaced by a pack of giant rats. He managed to fight them off, but not before losing his left hand to one of them. He wandered the unfamiliar land, badly wounded. He eventually found a partially-ruined keep. Inside was a mage named Constance. She healed James’ wounds, and gave him an enchanted hook as a replacement for his ill-fated hand. Then Constance explained that James had been teleported to the Primal Wasteland, the homeland of most monsters. The Primal Wasteland was immeasurably distant from any inhabited lands, and the only way anyone had ever come to or from it was via magic. Nonetheless, over the years, the monsters of the wastes had been slowly migrating to inhabited lands. Should they gain a foothold there, they could overrun all of civilisation. Constance then asked James if he would hunt down the monsters that made their way to civilised lands to prevent that from coming to pass. She would have done so herself, but she was not a warrior, and her magic was capable only of healing, augmentation, transportation, and scrying. James accepted the task. Thus Constance equipped him with an arsenal of enchanted weaponry before teleporting him away for his first mission.

#65

For some reason I was thinking make the wings look more mechanical but just basically be gliders while the propulsion comes from some kind of ion thrusters. Again, hand-wavy comic book pseudoscience here. I’m not gunning for the Nobel Prize in Physics.

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#66

The Order of the Cocoon was a secretive cabal of magic-users. Their leader had prophesied that the lands would erupt in war sometime in the near future. To prevent this, the Order began a plan to create an army of mage-knights. They used divination to scour the land for children that had sorcerous potential, and acquired those children by any means necessary. They then began to train them in the ways of magic. The training was nightmarishly harsh. The most gifted of their number was the young sorceress Vanessa. She developed a suite of mentalist powers, as well as an affinity for draconic magicks.* Eventually, once Vanessa had grown into an adult, she set out from the secretive base she had lived in to prevent the prophesied war.

Clio† was another child who possessed natural sorcerous potential. She was also acquired by the Order of the Cocoon, although by a different sect than Vanessa. However, her training never got as far as Vanessa’s, as when she was but six years old, Vanessa came to that sect and freed Clio from it, so that she would not be subjected to the heckish training that she was, and not burdened by the mystic power she possessed. Clio was returned to her family, and all was quiet for a time. Yet, Clio’s untapped magic began to manifest itself as projections of the girl’s dreams and nightmares as she slept. She eventually fell comatose while her magic unleashed a horde of mental monsters.

#67

“Heckish” :rofl:

#68

Maria Helena stowed away on a great sailing galleon to experience a life of adventure. Meanwhile, in the space outside Reality, the Singular Entity OblivAeon shattered the Timelines of the Multiverse. When the cosmic shockwave from that event reached this reality, its unusually high level of magic caused a great mana-storm to form in the centre of the sea. The ship that Maria Helena was on was caught in that storm. In the heart of the magical maelstrom, all others on the ship perished. But Maria Helena did not. She grasped the ship’s helm and thrilled to the exaltation of the magic-charged waves crashing against its prow. In that storm, the ship was infused with magic, as was its new captain. La Capitan, as she now called herself, sailed La Paradoja Mágica through the seas. The ship had acquired the ability to conjure storm-clouds, then shift itself into an ethereal plane, where it could traverse distances in but a fraction of the time it would take a ship in the normal plane to do so. She acquired many crew-mates and many names, becoming Maria Helena Teresa Fafila Servanda Jimena Mansuara Paterna Domenga Gelvira Placia Sendina Belita Eufemia Columba Gontina Aldonza Mafalda Cristina Tegrida de Falcon.

Sir Paul VIII, Son of Paul, was a paragon of nobility, heroism, and justice. His eternal nemesis, Baron Ivan, was unfaltering in his conviction to finally finish his foe. Baron Ivan was a man of science; he had used various ingenious inventions of his own devising in his struggle against Sir Paul. However, no matter what he tried, the ways of science could not vanquish the noble hero. So Baron Ivan began researching a mystical artefact that he believed could destroy his nemesis. He discovered that it rested deep underground, beneath the island outpost of Port Wagner. He travelled there, and uncovered the relic — a large, red-hued diamond. Reports of the Baron’s activity had reached the Fellowship of Freedom, however, and they swiftly came to Port Wagner to confront him. Sir Paul’s daughter, Paulina, who possessed the power to conjure flame in addition to all of her father’s talents, also accompanied the brave group of heroes. When the heroes arrived, Baron Ivan sprung a trap which gravely wounded Paulina. She would live, but her recovery would take months. Sir Paul, angered by his daughter’s injury, charged at the baron. But Baron Ivan held out the diamond artefact, and activated its power. Baron Ivan expected the diamond to slay his enemy, but he was mistaken. Instead, it created a dark duplicate of Sir Paul, a doppelgänger that possessed none of the brave hero’s morals or integrity. The doppelgänger was ruthless, merciless, and without compassion. Yet he still retained his mission of vanquishing evil, and to that end he went after Baron Ivan while the original Sir Paul was recovering from the diamond’s effect. The doppelgänger managed to wound Ivan before he escaped. Once the threat of the Baron was gone, however, the doppelgänger turned on the heroes, desiring to pursue his own ruthless brand of justice. He dubbed himself Lord Paul the Iron, and a great battle began between him and the heroes of the realm. It raged on for some time, until the mentalist Vanessa managed to imprison Lord Paul in the diamond that spawned him.

#69

Curious divergence from the actual Iron Legacy story there. Not only do you make him a separate entity from the original Paul 8, but you also don’t kill the daughter.

This brings up an interesting question. You wrote that Pauline can “conjure flame”, something that Old Man Frost will certainly be happy about, but it is definitively a change from the original’s laser eyes. Energy damage in general is always much more akin to a sci fi vibe, with I think the single exception being Akashbhuta. So if you were to create Sentinels of the Realm in card game form, would you do away with energy damage entirely? What would it be replaced with, both as a general rule and in specific edge cases? Would Grand Admiral Voss have a fire fist and another, burnier fire fist? Would Sir Hugh be rendered immune to fire by his Cosmological Crescent? Would the Dark Lord Empyreon, in his Living Void form, now absorb fire damage to gain HP?

#70

Yes. I did that because I wanted the Realmverse to have Lord Paul the Iron, but without losing Sir Paul. Just like how Universe 1 has its normal Legacy, but it also had Iron Legacy in it for a bit. I just had the evil duplicate come from a curse instead of another universe. If I just had Sir Paul VIII turn bad, it would make the Realmverse a fantasy equivalent of the Iron Legacy Timeline, rather than a fantasy equivalent of Universe 1. Similarly, I wanted the tragedy of Paulina being wounded, but without killing her.

I agree, on both accounts.

I don’t think it would be removed entirely. There would still be uses for it. Instead of it being “pure energy” in a SF lazer-plasma way, it would most likely represent pure magical energy in most cases (akin to Force damage in D&D 5E), somewhat similarly to how Infernal Damage is used in base SotM. When it is replaced, though, I think it would be by Fire, Infernal, or Radiant. All instances of it certainly wouldn’t be replaced by Fire, though.

As I said in his original post, Voss would deal Fire damage and Infernal damage.

Hmm, I’m not sure about this one. Sir Hugh has “star magic,” so he likely wouldn’t interact with Fire damage. (Yes, stars actually are made of fire — more or less — by they were not perceived as such in the Middle Ages.) I’d either keep him dealing Energy damage, or change it to Radiant.

I have not thought at all about Realmverse Empyrean yet, seeing as he’s a deckless character. However, if he does become a Scion in this reality, he’d likely still deal — and absorb — Energy damage in that form, at least.

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#71

The Fellowship of Freedom worked tirelessly to defend the Alliance of Kingdoms from threats of all sorts. Yet, not even they could be everywhere at once. The rulers of several kingdoms thought that it would be wise to establish another, more numerous organisation to protect them from invaders. To that end, the Fidelitous Institution for the Limitation of Treachery from Exterior Rogues was founded. It was a secretive organisation whose mission was to swiftly exterminate any threats that hailed from far off lands. The group was headed by Felix the Stone-Hearted — as he was called by his detractors — and has skirmished with foreign individuals on several occasions, including but not limited to Makius the Maerman, Portia the Giant, and Grand Admiral Voss.

Not long after the Institution’s inception, its members had established The Prison. The Prison was a, well, prison that sat high up in a mountain-range far from any other settlement.

Paige the Hunter was one of the Institution’s finest operatives. She had been an exceptional soldier and skilled swordswoman before being recruited, and her skills only grew after she joined. She often yielded flawless execution in her missions. One day, for no discernible reason, however, Paige fell ill. Her disease eventually passed, but afterwards Paige discovered that she had somehow gained the magical ability to wreathe any weapons she wielded in golden fire. She put this new power to good use in her work at the Institution. However, as time went on, Paige began to realise that the Institution had been treating their enemies and prisoners much less than justly. She also began to learn that perhaps not all outsiders were enemies. Learning these things incentivised Paige to splinter off from the organisation, and pursue the protection of the land her own way.

Sergeant Jack the Steely was another exceptional operative of the Institution. He led a company of highly-trained members, including a battle physician, a pyrotechnist, an assassin, a mechanist, a spy, a cannoneer, an archer, and a bombardier. Sergeant Jack, unlike Paige, however, remained loyal to the Institution.

Unknown to all but a select few in the Realm, the extradimensional covert-ops organization F.I.L.T.E.R. has made contact with the Institution. The two groups, sharing similar goals and ideologies, have formed an alliance. They frequently share resources, personnel, and intel with each-other to further their dual missions.

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#72

Duke Michael of House Conteh was a greedy man. He owned one of the largest mining companies in the land. His methods were less than ethical, though. His miners cared not for the natural land, and ravaged it in their pursuit of precious metals and ores. One day, though, the great earth elemental Akash’Bhuta took notice of Duke Michael’s efforts. The spirit bestowed a curse upon the man, granting him a shape that would match his greed — the form of a dragon, although little taller than a horse. When Michael awoke from his metamorphosis, he fled from his manor in horror. He lived in that form in the wilderness for some time, before encountering the minstrel and arcanist Anthony the Argent Adept. Anthony had had experience dealing with Akash’Bhuta’s chaos, and so he helped Michael to master his new bestial state. As his mastery grew, he discovered that he could transform into other beasts as well. Besides the Mighty Dragon, Michael could take the form of the Agile Gryphon, or the shape of the Mystical Unicorn. He also regained the ability to resume his original, human form. Michael’s time in the wild had changed him — in more ways than one. He learned of nature’s suffering, and so resolved to use his newfound power to defend it from those who would do it harm, as he once did.

Kimberly the Sage worked for the Order of Revocation. She was a scholar and a researcher — an expert on all things academic, as well as a dabbler in arcane runes. After the rampaging Allcastle had been defeated by the heroic Fellowship of Freedom and King Aldred X, the Order had assigned her to study its ruins. While there, Kimberly got caught in the crossfire of an altercation betwixt the heroic Watchers of the Darkness and Gabrielle the Witch of Doom, a potent practitioner of luck magic. Gabrielle cast a hex at Kimberly, but the sage ducked behind a fragment of the Allcastle. The spell struck the enchanted stones of the formerly sentient keep, before flowing through them and into Kimberly. After the battle, the sage discovered that the botched luck spell combined with the castle’s ambient magicks had somehow given her the power to see the Strings of Fate, and understand how they were woven. She could use this to divine the near future (although only up to a few minutes), as well as possible futures, seeing how different actions would produce different outcomes. Kimberly returned to her work for the Order of Revocation. But after not long, she discovered corruption within the Order’s ranks, and that they were working with the villainous Baron Ivan. So she left, took up archery, and used that and her fatesight to combat treachery.

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#73

The Vengeful Legion

Baron Ivan had battled Sir Paul XIII countless times, with each struggle always ending in defeat for the vile villain. The Baron concluded that it was Sir Paul’s allies, the Fellowship of Freedom, who had been the cause of his failures. So he devised a plan to gather a fellowship of his own. He sent summons to all of the scoundrels of the realm, imploring them to come together and unite under one banner, and to finally vanquish their shared foes. The Baron knew, however, that that would not be enough. He still wanted to deal the killing blow to his eternal nemesis, but none of his miraculous inventions had hitherto been able to best Sir Paul’s mystic gifts. Thus Baron Ivan turned to the Order of Revocation, which he was secretly the leader of. With their help, he concocted an alchemical elixir which he hoped would mimic Sir Paul’s gifts.

Sir Alexander was a loyal soldier to a kingdom that had been at war with the Alliance of Kingdoms for quite some time. The war was not a traditional conflict, as there was very little actual fighting; rather, it was an escalating race between the two sides, each trying to become more powerful than the other. Some of the scholar-mages of Alexander’s kingdom had uncovered an arcane stone possessed of unknown magical properties. Alexander, being an exemplary warrior, was chosen to attempt to attune to the stone, and hopefully gain some manner of enchantment from it. At first there was no sign of a magical boon, but eventually Alexander discovered that he had gained the ability to temporarily mesmerise the minds of others. The thralls he could create lacked much agency, however, and were not useful for anything but creating a swarming mob. Alexander’s new ability was quickly put to use. Shortly afterwards, though, he was mortally wounded. His kingdom managed to preserve him by causing him to fall into a deep slumber. They kept him that way while they searched for some way to cure his fatal wound. But before such a cure could be discovered, the kingdom started crumbling from the prolonged conflict with the Alliance. The group that knew of Alexander eventually died out, and he was forgotten.

After months of preparation, Baron Ivan was finally ready to begin his War of Vengeance. He had perfected his elixir and gathered a veritable army of knaves and rogues. He assembled them atop his Aerial Fortress, an ingenious flying machine powered by steam and hot air. He had also recruited an elite force of villains that, with him, would take on the Fellowship of Freedom directly. It consisted of Baron Ivan himself; Sir Steven the Grave, a former knight and rival of Sir Tyler, whom Baron Ivan had given a dose of his elixir; Lady Cassandra, a noblewoman who had secretly been a thief until she was exposed by the Wraith of the Woods; Krystal, a reckless alchemist who had been apprenticed to Dame Meredith before she stole a dangerous prototype of her sandals of swiftness; and Sir Alexander, who Baron Ivan had discovered in his slumber and awoken. Together, Baron Ivan’s Vengeful Legion would visit vengeance upon the sentinels of the realm!

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#74

The Enclave of the Ancients was created by Jansa Vi Dero, the last member of a forgotten race. The Enclave was an immense island, far away from any inhabited lands. Jansa used her people’s considerable magical talents and relics to scry for members of other dying civilisations and bring them to the island, where her magic could halt their ageing indefinitely.

Tarogath was the last of the Procitorians, a reptilian race thought to have draconic ancestry. He lived in the Enclave of the Ancients for an uncountable number of years. But when he saw that the same threat that had destroyed his people was looming over the Alliance of Kingdoms, he decided to flee from the Enclave’s protection. With him, Tarogath took many of Jansa’s ancient artefacts (without her permission). He sailed to the mainland and began to use those artefacts to create several magical cataclysms. He specifically targeted the ley lines of the land, wreaking much havoc upon the natural balance of the world.

Sir Nigel of House Lowsley was a brave knight and brother of the magistrate Sir Hugh. Both dabbled in astrology, and one night they saw a stream of starlight fall to earth. The brothers went to investigate, but were both incapacitated by the raw magic of the event. When Hugh awoke, he discovered that he had been imbued with astral magic, and that Nigel had seemingly disappeared. In actuality, while Hugh had received power, Sir Nigel had been cursed with star madness. His mind was flooded with the terrible secrets of the unknown heavens, that which man was not meant to know. Nigel went mad from the revelation. He fled into the wilderness before Hugh awakened. Nigel heard the whispers of nameless things, and learned that he had gained the ability to conjure hideous, tentacled blasphemies.

Kaargra the War-Fanged was the master of the Bloodsworn Colosseum, a massive arena-ship that sailed from port to port. At every stop, Kaargra and her Bloodsworn Gladiators would raid the port and abduct those who showed promise as warriors. They would then be forced to battle the Gladiators and each-other in the Colosseum. Kaargra herself was a skilled warrior, as well as a blood mage, which allowed her to magically bind Gladiators to her service.

Long ago, a spark of power was planted deep underground. It waited for years while it grew. Eventually, it burst forth from the ground, having created a form of stone for itself. The stone beast immediately began destroying the countryside. It wrecked any settlements it came across, and slew any who resisted its inevitable march. The beast’s form was mutable; it took on the elemental aspect that would best suit its current opposition. It could set itself ablaze, it could grow tendrils of tree-limbs, and it could even transform itself wholly into water or æther.

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#75

Having failed to write up my original ideas for this project in time, many of them are now obsolete, so here’s a quick recompiling of what remains uncovered by either Fjur’s or my versions of the fantasy-refluffed SOTM. For the moment, the two haven’t diverged enough that I feel the need to create my own distinct version, but it’s likely that will happen eventually, as it did for a similar project I worked on involving Star Trek where the other person’s ideas were not fully compatible with my own.

So, we’re basically left with Fanatic, The Scholar, Ambuscade/Stuntman, Akash’Bhuta/Thriya, Apostate, Miss Information, the Celestial Tribunal and Champion Studios, all of which are fairly superficial in the adjustments they need. I can work on putting some copy together for these at some future point when I get bored, but overall I’d say that the work Fjur has done so far has been largely sufficient, and this whole project is more at the part of needing fanart than requiring further writing to plan it out.

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#76

I imagine that her default size is around that of an ogre (≈7’-10’), but she can grow larger, as well as shrinking to tall human height (≈6’). And she probably possesses the ability to shrink as small as her Universe 1 counterpart, but uses it less often and more discretely, so most folks don’t know that it’s something that she can do.

CANON.

Yeah, I agree. I was never super happy with Exterior. I also considered External. Enigmatic? Evil? Envious? Egregious? I’m open to suggestions; what do y’all think?

Yeah, I’d go so far as to say that her race is wholly amphibious., being able to breathe air and water equally well.

Yep, I don’t think I’m going to do a write-up for WM, as he’d just show up and put on some vaguely medievalish-looking clothing (likely knight’s armour or jester’s garb).

True. Perhaps he’d have an equestrian obsession instead?

I agree that a better name is possible, but I’d want it to match the monotony, unoriginality, and uncreativity of The Block.

Perhaps that hermit is Aata’s long-lost sister Arataki?

Agreed, although I did already discuss Ambuscade above. The various Akashes would be nigh-identical, likely with the only change being that she’s an “elemental” rather than a “spirit.” Fanatic and Apostate would be nigh-identical, although I’m not sure whether this timeline has Christianity or not. If not, I’d likely rule that Fanatic is aware of her true nature as an extraplanar spirit. Or maybe she’s just a bona fide angel? Or perhaps she’s simply a mortal warrior who draws power from the Host? The Scholar would be practically the same, although I wonder what to do with his houseboat. I could see it being replaced with a wagon, a cabin, or just a more appropriate variety of boat.

Here’s my remaining list of characters that I’m planning to write:

  • Guise
  • Benchmark
  • Miss Information
  • Chokepoint
  • The Celestial Tribunal
  • Magmaria
  • Madame Mittermeier’s Fantastic Festival of Conundrums and Curiosities
  • The Slaughterhouse Six
  • Greazer Clutch
  • Champion Studios
  • Fort Adamant
  • The Maerynian Refuge

My workload’s gotten a touch lighter recently, so I expect to finish those (relatively) soon(ish).

Thanks!

True, although I have almost zero idea about how to go about that, beyond just asking the forum at large.

#77

'Tis been many fortnights since I last put pen to this tome, but now I shall once again take up my task of chronicling the inhabitants of this fantastical land! We shall resume with two heroic figures, although both are less deserving of that title than many of their peers…

Joseph was a wandering minstrel—he would go from town to town, regaling the villagers with tales of brave heroes. He would never fail to mention his contributions to those heroes’ exploits, of course, despite the fact that anyone asking the heroes in question about Joseph’s “contributions” would likely find that they would characterise him as more of a nuisance. Nevertheless, Joseph continued to “aid” various courageous warriors in their battles (mainly by standing on the sidelines and composing “good” lyrics about how he saved the heroes from their dastardly foes). One day, however, Joseph was strolling through the city of Megalot when a statue dislodged itself from its perch atop a citadel, and plummeted down towards him! Joseph was sure that he would be quashed, but he reflexively held up his arms to shield himself from the falling statuary. Miraculously, Joseph felt a surge of strength and somehow managed to deflect the statue away from him. Amazed, Joseph tested the limits of this newfound power, and eventually discovered that he could morph his own form into any shape or appearance that he could imagine, provided it was roughly humanoid. Joseph could even give himself forms that possessed far greater strength, speed, agility, or vitality than any normal mortal. Joseph was at a loss to explain his newfound power—yet that did not stop him from finally actually joining other heroes in their battles and quests, although his annoying tendencies persisted. Joseph would learn much latter that his powers were the result of him being descend from the royalty of an otherworldly Court of Fey—he was, in fact, a Changeling. And so he took to calling himself King Joseph, the Hero of a Thousand Guises.

Sir Randal was the son of minor nobility—his family lacked any real power, and were really simply wealthy gentry. Nonetheless, Sir Randal excelled in all pursuits that he attempted—and he attempted all pursuits befitting of a modern gentleman like himself. Randall went on to master fencing, archery, hunting, falconry, calligraphy, poetry, dance, smithing, history, literature, and countless other fields. He also possessed exceptional charisma, and so was phenomenally popular with the laypeople. And yet Sir Randal still felt that he could be doing more with his life. His desire was granted when the Order of Revocation came to him; they had invented a fantastic suit of armour for him, and bequeathed it to him as a gift. The armour was truly marvellous—it was fitted with a myriad of clockwork devices as well as being enchanted with magic. It had pistons that enhanced Sir Randal’s strength and allowed him to jump great distances. It was armed with contraptions that could fire bolts or arrows with the strength of a ballista, or hurl alchemical solutions at foes. With this suit of armour Sir Randal resolved to put his extraordinary skills to use fighting treachery and knavery wherever it might strike. What Randal did not know, however, was that the Order of Revocation had placed a curse upon his armour. They could see all that Sir Randal saw through his helm’s visor, and more terrible still, they could subtly influence his behaviour while he wore the suit…

#78

Evelyn of the Moor had always possessed a unique talent—she could hear the voices of the earth, of rocks, of trees, and of streams, and she could speak back to them. All of these things spoke to Evelyn, and they told her of their imprisonment and subjugation by humans. So, when she had grown into adulthood, Evelyn began her crusade. She used her ability to speak to raw, inanimate materials to manipulate them into fighting back against their human captors. The brick and mortar and lumber of houses and walls, and the metal of arms and armour—all listened to Evelyn’s commands, and all were utilised by her for her mission.

Aminia II was the loyal seneschal of the Fellowship of Freedom. She acted as stewardess of the Tower of the Fellowship, in addition to handling all of the clerical and administrative matters that allowed those brave heroes to continue their righteous fight for justice. However, one day when Aminia was taking stock of the enchanted artefacts that the Fellowship had confiscated from various dastardly villains, her gaze became entranced by an Orb of Prophecy. In the clear, crystalline form of the sphere, Aminia saw her own fate—being crushed under collapsing rubble while the Fellowship that she had so loyally served were occupied rescuing some nameless peasants. Aminia was enraged that her so-called friends would one day forsake her, so she chose to pre-emptively visit vengeance upon them before they could. Aminia knew all of the secrets and weaknesses of the Fellowship, and put that knowledge to good use as she sabotaged their quests from the shadows.

Aminia’s schemes were all unfolding perfectly—the Fellowship had been failing, and no one suspected her involvement. Her run of luck ended, however, when Kimberly the Sage, a skilled archer possessed of mystic sight, managed to see through her ruse and alerted the other heroes of Aminia’s betrayal. Thus Aminia had to go on the run from the Fellowship. The final confrontation betwixt Kimberly, the Fellowship, and Aminia occurred in one of the vast buildings of Lord Pike’s Alchemists’ Guild in the City of Rooks. The battle had caused significant destruction to the structure, and so the Fellowship had to pause their fighting momentarily to evacuate the endangered alchemists. Kimberly took that moment, however, to fire an arrow at the weak-spot of a support beam, causing that section of the ceiling to collapse, burying Aminia.

#79

The Justifier is back from the dead, but may not have the time, energy, or frankly the heart to resume his previous project of either contributing to OR contradicting what you’ve been doing here. Just know that me and my temporarily resurrected ghost will be following along with everything you do here, as time permits us such amusements in our new existence.

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#80

Thanks; it’s nice to know that this stuff is acknowledged by at least one person. I’ll do my best to keep it entertaining.

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#81

I’m still reading them with interest. Looking forward to adaptations of Necrosis and Grimm in the Realm. “We heard you like fairy tales, so we put a fairy tale-teller in your fairy tale!”

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